real food recipes I like:

Today is March the first. The first day of this month brings a new challenge for me (Carrie). While the art of storytelling through photos is something I am passionate about, simple portraiture is also an area that I love shooting.

Back when I was a teenager one of the first cameras I learned to shoot with was a very old Minolta film camera that my dad passed down to me. Something about photography just clicked (no pun intended) with me and a new passion was birthed. Even then I loved shooting a simple portrait of my friends, my family and my pets (yes, I do have some cat photos).

Since those teenage days I have continued to grow as a photographer. I have learned what I love to shoot, and what I did not love to shoot!

As I continue to grow older I still find my passion behind the camera. Telling a story in a few frames is challenging and exciting and I love to do this for others, as well as in my own personal photos.

But even more challenging to me, is telling a story in a single frame. A simple, beautiful portrait that speaks out is a challenge. How can I do this? How can I keep a story within one frame?

So for the month of March I am challenging myself to create one portrait each day that offers me a creative outlet as a portrait photographer, but also the challenge of storytelling in one frame.

For my first portrait I shot this mid afternoon frame of our son.

It was nap time and the light streaming in was beautiful. "I'm not sleepy Mommy. I'm all done with my nap," he had said while holding his stuffed monkey friend. A few moments later he was asleep. I know the stuffed animal days will end quickly as he grows older, so I'll savor them while they are still here.